Enzymes made up of amino acids (proteins) and they’re totally biodegradable, non-toxic, and harmless to the environment and marine life.   They’re a type of chemical that speeds up natural processes. They act as catalysts for chemical processes, sometimes speeding it up millions of times faster than the reaction would happen on its own. Each enzyme is designed for a specific reaction, so for cleaning multiple enzymes are typically combined for a purpose, like a kitchen cleaner would use enzymes targeted to what you find in a kitchen. Got it? In general, they speed up the break down of soap, oils, detergents,  and organic matter. In fact, they break them down into earth-friendly components like oxygen and carbon. Once the organic matter is gone there’s nowhere for bacteria to grow. So, that’s how they do the dirty work.

The same way they attack oils and organic matter, enzymes can also break down odors, contaminants in water, and all sorts of other things. What else? They’re pH neutral, meaning they’re safe for natural stone (granite, marble, travertine, etc.) as well as hardwood floors & furniture and other sensitive surfaces.   We tried out the kitchen cleaner here by NaturallyClean and loved it. Our only caution is to watch the other ingredients in a cleaner, as usual. A truly green product will make the list of ingredients available to you, so look for plant-based surfactants and solvents without artificial scents and what-not.

There’s nothing better than creating a home cooked meal from scratch, using the season’s finest and freshest to bring the most flavor to the table. But unless you’re a vegetarian you probably also have raw meat you’ll be chopping now and then, and potentially leaving dangerous germs on your chopping block.   Here’s what we suggest:

1. Use different cutting boards for different purposes. One for non-meats and cooked items only, one for fish, and one for raw red and white meat. This will keep you from cross contaminating, and even if a germ or two is spread from one meat to the next, you’re going to thoroughly cook the meat and sterilize that stray germ.
2. As the CDC recommends, soap and water is sufficient for most purposes, including hand washing and cleaning dishes and cutting boards. Hot, soapy water will do the trick for most kitchens. Just make sure you’re actually scrubbing and not just giving a cursory swipe. Alternatively, use your dishwasher and eco-friendly dishwashing detergent. The level of sustained heat in the dishwasher will kill most everything.
3. A two-step process involving a spray of hydrogen peroxide followed by a spray of vinegar, with each left to sit for 10 minutes will properly disinfect. The key though is leaving it to sit. Even the best product is useless if not used correctly.
4. Essential oil of lavender – about 20 drops to 1 cup of water in a spray bottle will disinfect quite well and leave your home smelling like spring year round! This is safe enough to spray directly on your kids’ toys and other food-prep surfaces, which makes it one of our favorites. In fact, studies show that essential oils may disinfect more effectively than phenol, which is what most disinfectants use today. Additionally, they don’t seem to contribute to the development of drug resistant strains of bugs like regular antibacterials do.
5. Microwave it! I’m serious. If you’re concerned that your cutting board may be compromised and if it’s wood, put it in the microwave a zap it for 10 minutes. Your cutting board will be clean, but use caution getting it out – depending on the type of wood and level of moisture present it could be hot. This doesn’t work on plastic cutting boards though, so don’t waste your time.

Thanks to Mollie over at One/Change for a few of those tips.  If you’re in the market for a new cutting board, opt for wood. New studies show that wood cutting boards don’t harbor bacteria the way plastic boards do. Due to the capillary of dry wood, microbes disappear below the surface where they die within a few hours. Plastic on the other hand allow microbes to sit on the surface where they can contaminate the next item. And please, avoid those “antibacterial” cutting boards like the plague – they’re treated with a pesticide and do you really want to introduce pesticides into your kitchen? Add in the fact that FDA is attacking the claims of the effectiveness of those pesticides, and it’s really not worth it.

Antiseptic or germicide: Inhibits growth of micro-organisms. These can usually be used on living organisms, and are therefore regulated by the FDA.

Natural Antiseptic or germicide: St. Johns Wort, lime oil, bergamot, clove, eucalyptus, and many others.

Sanitizers: Used to reduce, but not necessarily eliminate micro-organisms. Some sanitizers can be used in food-contact situations (dish washing, counter top sprays, vegetable washes, etc.)

Natural Sanitizer: Borax, grapefruit oil, pine oil, lavender.

Disinfectants: Will destroy or irreversibly inactivate fungi and bacteria, but not necessarily their spores. They can be divided into 2 categories – hospital grade and general use. General use is typically plenty for even the ‘dirtier’ parts of your home, like toilets and floors.

 Natural Disinfectant: Tea Tree Oil, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (especially when used together, one after the other), Baking soda, lemon juice, Oregano oil, thyme, and cinnamon.

Sterilizers: Used to eliminate all forms of microbial life including fungi, bacteria, viruses, and their spores.  Most situations don’t require something this strong, but if you’re getting rid of toxic mold, tuberculosis, or something equally stubborn, you may want to look into it.

 Natural Sterilizer: Sunlight, Heat and steam, garlic, oregano oil.

The next question is what cleaners actually do, if they don’t have antiseptic, sanitizing, or disinfectant properties. Most – if not labeled as disinfectant or otherwise – are general surfectants.  That means they make water wetter – they make microbes, particles, germs, etc., slide off the surface but they don’t necessarily kill anything. We don’t recommend mixing these commercial cleaners with the natural cleaners mentioned above. If you’re not a chemist you could end up producing an unintentional and potentially harmful reaction. However, you can mix some of the natural cleaners with each other. Examples would be adding essential oils to vinegar, lemon juice, borax, or baking soda. Note that we don’t recommend mixing hydrogen peroxide (it’s highly acidic and can be reactive).

Oregano oil!

It’s potent. A drop or two will go a long way. A few drops added to your all-purpose cleaner will give you the added boost of antifungal and antibacterial cleaning. Use it where you’d use bleach – the only difference is that it won’t whiten as bleach does (and hey, you’ll be able to breathe while you clean!).

You can even take it internally, but watch 0ut – it’s potent. 1-2 drops in a glass of water a couple times a day will be sufficient to fight bacteria and boost your immune system. Also, avoid contact with mucus membranes – it’ll burn.

A few added bonuses of oregano oil over antibiotics? There is no known tendency for microbes to develop a resistance to oregano oil. And, this one rather potent substance will kill most bacteria. Studies have even shown it to sterilize sewer water in relatively low dilutions (1:4000).

If you choose to try it internally, listen to your body’s response, and consult a doctor if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. French literature recommends refraining from long-term continual use of oregano oil because it could effect liver metabolism. Also, remember to dilute it well if you’re going to apply it directly to your skin (for fungal nail infections and such).

You should be able to find oregano oil at your local health foods store.

Our friends over at The Green Guide (published by National Geographic) tackled this question this week. The answer? If you’re concerned about salmonella, E Coli, and such (and who isn’t, honestly?), keep 2 spray bottles around – one with 3% hydrogen peroxide (the same strength you’d get at the drugstore) and one of undiluted white or apple cider vinegar. Spray one, then immediately the other, and wipe. It will effectively kill household bacteria. And, it’s safe enough to use directly on fruits and vegetables. That also means it’s safe enough for your kids to use – let them clean up their place at the table when they’re done! What could be better? Their answer comes from research done at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, so you can be sure it’s backed up with some extensive lab testing.

Of course, the best way to keep things clean at home is with frequent, proper handwashing. Use warm water, a non-anti-bacterial soap, and really rub hands together for 20 seconds, making sure to get in all the crevices.

• Mold and mildew: On porous surfaces (grout, drywall, wood, etc.) mold grows deep into the surface. The way bleach is ionized prevents it from getting into the pores. Bleach is not an effective agent against mold and mildew. People believe it is because it kills some of the surface mold and bleaches the rest of it white – so that you don’t see it. But it won’t kill it all or inhibit the growth.
  • Alternatives: tea tree oil, cinnamon, chamomile, borax
• Bacteria and viruses: Bleach is thought by most to disinfect and sterilize virtually all bacteria and viruses. The fact is, it isn’t completely effective with organic material, nor does it kill E. Coli or other food borne microbes.
  • Alternatives: vinegar, baking soda, borax, lemon juice, tea tree oil, oregano oil

The dangers of bleach far outweigh the uses. The active ingredient in bleach is sodium hypochlorite, and it releases chlorine gases when acidified. It is corrosive and toxic by all routes of exposure (inhalation, touch, ingestion).  It can cause respiratory difficulties, vomiting, loss of consciousness, headache, and skin burns. Anyone who already has respiratory difficulties (asthma, chronic bronchitis, etc.) should not be exposed to it.

When is it useful? When something really needs to be whitened. Say, if you’re selling your home and everything needs to gleam. Of course, you’ll want to use good ventilation and dilute the bleach well. You also might want to consider using a bleach pen, hoping it won’t emit as much fumes.

I get lots of people looking for information on bleach, and using it for different purposes. So here’s a run-down of some frequently asked questions.

• Using bleach to clean lettuce (or potatoes, carrots, apples, any fruit or vegetable)
  • Please don’t. You will ingest bleach residue. How much you ingest depends on how well you rinse, what type of water you have, what type of bleach you use, etc. Ingesting bleach is never good. For anyone. If you’re looking for a way to wash your fruits and veggies, get a veggie sponge from your local kitchen gadget store and use vinegar when you scrub. It’ll kill the germs and dissolve the dirt.
• Bleach to remove warts
  • Again, please don’t. Bleach can cause 3rd degree skin burns. And those leave nasty scars. There are better ways to get rid of warts. Ask your pharmacist. Or your doctor. Or check out these posts.
• Bleach to disinfect body
  • I don’t know if this refers to internal or external disinfecting. But either way, please don’t. For your own health and safety. Again, there are better ways to cleanse your body – inside and out. I recommend you look into it. Bleach is a very harsh chemical, and not meant for use on the skin, or internally ingested / absorbed / smoked. I don’t know what else you can do with it, but my preference is to leave it on the shelf at the grocery store.

• To whiten stained spots on clothing: put some lemon juice on the spot, rub in a bit of salt, and leave it in the sun for an hour or two. It lifts the stain.
• To clean spills from health contaminants (raw meat or eggs in the kitchen, urine in the bathroom): Straight vinegar is a great disinfectant. I advise keeping a sponge with vinegar near your cutting boards for frequent use.
• To whiten laminate counter tops: Bon Ami – it’s a powder found at the grocery store in a canister – usually right next to Bar Keeper’s friend (which also works relatively well. But we prefer Bon Ami – it uses less elbow grease, and less elbow grease means more cleaning stamina!). We’ve removed coffee stains, raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry stains, and marks from the bottom of pots and pans.
• To disinfect:
  • Borax: buy it in the supermarket where they sell detergents – in my grocery store it’s next to the powdered dishwasher detergents. Borax is a powder and is safe to mix with virtually anything. Combine it with some vinegar, lemon juice, or just plain water to clean virtually anything. It’s completely harmless and safe to use. Gloves and ventilation not required (as opposed to bleach).
  • Vinegar: it disinfects, kills mold, bacteria, and germs. (As an aside: bleach does not kill mold – it just whitens it so you don’t see it. But bleach will leave living mold spores that will continue to grow.) Vinegar’s potency is released when combined with salt, so for a nice strong disinfectant add some salt to your vinegar, dilute with water if you’d like, and spray away. I just used it to clean the toilet seat in the bathroom where my little girl is potty-training. It works remarkably well.

Any more alternative uses you need for bleach? Let me know and I’ll fill you in!

Instead, try duct tape. (No, really, I’m serious)  I saw an article about it posted in my pediatrician’s office this morning when we were there to discuss Little Man’s seizures (it’s been a weird week), and I googled it when I got home. Here’s the procedure (from CBS news):

In the study, patients wore duct tape over their warts for six days. Then they removed the tape, soaked the area in water and used an emery board or pumice stone to scrape the spot. The tape was reapplied the next morning. The treatment continued for a maximum of two months or until the wart went away.